Having made up her mind, Liu Shuang felt relieved.

After dressing and grooming herself, she searched everywhere for Yan Chaosheng but couldn’t find him. When she asked the ghost cultivators in the main hall, they replied: “This servant doesn’t know the Demon Lord’s whereabouts.”

Determined to get an answer, she turned and ran toward the Xiang Ze Palace. After all, she had already trespassed once, and her husband hadn’t had the heart to throw her into the water prison. This knowledge emboldened her.

Behind her followed four strong rhinoceros demons left by Yan Chaosheng. They didn’t restrain her, following neither too far nor too close, allowing her to run to the edge of the bone forest.

Just as she was about to enter, she seemed to hit an invisible thick wall and was thrown back.

One of the rhinoceros demons caught her by the collar, grunting: “Be careful, My Lady.” After transformation, demon tribes almost always retained their bloodline characteristics. The rhinoceros demons were each as large as small mountains.

One was equal to two of her.

Liu Shuang rubbed her forehead and looked at the barrier before her. It hadn’t been there last night, yet it appeared out of nowhere this morning.

She glanced at the four subordinates, pointing at the barrier, gesturing for them to open it.

The rhinoceros demon said, “Forgive this servant, My Lady. We are helpless. Firstly, we dare not enter the forbidden area without permission. Secondly, this servant cannot break this barrier.”

She bit her lip: “Go find Lord Su Lun.”

Having made up her mind, Liu Shuang wouldn’t run away anymore. If they couldn’t do it, surely Su Lun, as Yan Chaosheng’s confidant, could.

Soon, Su Lun arrived, fanning himself. He cupped his hands and greeted her with a smile: “My Lady.”

“Lord Su Lun, can you help me open this barrier?”

Su Lun looked at the barrier outside the bone forest and drawled: “Ah, My Lady is putting this servant in a difficult position. How could this servant’s meager cultivation break the Demon Lord’s barrier?”

“You’re so clever; you must have a way. If anything happens, I will take full responsibility and ensure Lord Su Lun isn’t implicated when my husband blames someone.”

“My Lady jests. This servant isn’t afraid of being implicated.” Su Lun stroked his chin, his eyes flickering. “What does My Lady intend to do by trespassing in the forbidden area?”

Liu Shuang pressed her lips together and remained silent. This was between her and Yan Chaosheng, not appropriate to share with Su Lun.

“Does My Lady want to know who lives inside?” Su Lun raised an eyebrow. “There’s no need for such trouble, nor to anger the Demon Lord by breaking in. If My Lady wants to know, you can just ask me directly.”

“You know?”

“Of course.”

Liu Shuang said, “Then can Lord Su Lun tell me?”

“My Lady commands, who dares not obey? My Lady also knows that before the Demon Lord became a ruler, his youth was difficult. People are accustomed to favoring the powerful and belittling the weak. Those who showed kindness to the Demon Lord are especially rare. The one the Demon Lord brought back this time is a descendant of his benefactor. The benefactor’s descendants were not living well, and the Demon Lord is not a cold-hearted person. Naturally, he wouldn’t ignore his benefactor’s descendants. This person has a special identity and is being hunted by the Immortal Realm, making it inconvenient to live outside. Thus, the Demon Lord placed them in the Xiang Ze Palace, ordered everyone to take care of them, and swore the ghost cultivators to secrecy. Currently, this person’s soul is damaged and very weak, recovering in there.”

Liu Shuang was stunned by what she heard.

“Does My Lady not believe it?” Su Lun smiled, taking out a colorful bead from his waist. “This servant has a truth-testing stone. It can prove that this servant hasn’t lied.”

As he finished speaking, the truth-testing stone turned green.

If it had turned bright red, it would indicate a lie. A bright green color proved that every word was true.

So that was it. Liu Shuang felt embarrassed under Su Lun’s playful gaze, realizing she had probably misunderstood Yan Chaosheng again.

She couldn’t be blamed… after all, no one dared discuss the Demon Lord’s past. This was the first time she had heard someone openly discuss it, learning that he once had a benefactor whose kindness was as weighty as a mountain.

After understanding the situation, Liu Shuang felt so ashamed that she wanted to hide. No wonder her husband had been so angry yesterday. Her recklessness had nearly harmed the benefactor’s descendant.

Su Lun winked at her: “Is My Lady still angry now? Do you still want this servant to find a way to break the barrier?”

Liu Shuang quickly shook her head. She couldn’t harm that person.

Su Lun gave a light laugh: “Then My Lady should go back and rest. The Demon Lord’s birthday is approaching. At that time, My Lady can happily accompany him, alright?”

Liu Shuang curved her lips, her eyes forming crescent moons as she smiled: “Lord Su Lun, thank you.”

Su Lun closed his fan and bowed: “This servant bids My Lady farewell.”

Remembering that she had only made a sample of her silkworm silk, with Yan Chaosheng’s birthday just five days away, Liu Shuang felt some regret. She said goodbye to Su Lun and returned to her bedchamber.

Su Lun watched her walk away, tapping his fan in his palm.

Behind him, a ghostly spirit spoke softly: “Lord Su Lun’s rhetoric is truly formidable. Speaking in such a way that leads people on, yet truly calming My Lady’s heart.”

“You flatter me. Don’t wrong me; I spoke the truth, every word genuine.” Su Lun’s fan lightly tapped the barrier before him. He wondered if the Demon Lord could figure things out before disaster struck at home.

Being so consistently harsh to such a pure darling would make even him feel guilty.

Learning the truth from Su Lun, Liu Shuang diligently prepared a birthday gift for Yan Chaosheng.

As she sat on the swing, threading silver wire through a hairband, a thunderous noise filled the sky. The blood-red sky seemed to tear open, creating a lightning-like arc.

Her swing shook violently, throwing her to the ground.

Chang Huan was startled and forgot to walk over this time, instantly floating to her side, helping her up: “My Lady, are you hurt anywhere?”

Liu Shuang shook her head: “I’m fine. What… what’s happening? How can there be thunder and lightning in the Ghost Realm?”

She looked up at the sky, where purple-red traces streaked across. The sky of the Ghost Realm seemed to be breaking apart. In her decades in the Ghost Realm, she had never seen such a phenomenon.

Chang Huan frowned: “Someone is attacking the Ghost Realm.”

Attacking the Ghost Realm? Liu Shuang was very surprised.

Yan Chaosheng had always been unbridled and arrogant. Others feared him, walking on eggshells around him, afraid that one day the Demon Lord might decide to launch an attack.

Now, someone dared to attack the door and cause such turmoil in the Ghost Realm’s sky.

“Don’t worry, My Lady. With the Demon Lord here, that upstart surely won’t dare to cause more trouble.”

“Let’s go see.” Liu Shuang was concerned for him. She put down what she was working on and walked to the Ghost Realm’s gate, the entrance at Mount Qingcang. The trembling was even more violent here, giving the impression that the Ghost Realm’s gate was about to be broken open. For some reason, she thought of the person who had injured Yan Chaosheng.

She turned her gaze and saw Yan Chaosheng in silver battle attire.

His expression was icy, with the Ghost Realm’s general Fu Hang and many leaders following behind him, all walking outside together. Seeing her, he frowned slightly.

Another thunderous boom nearly made her lose her balance. Yan Chaosheng wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her, commanding concisely: “Go back.”

“Husband, is it the person who injured you before who’s attacking? Will you be in danger?”

Yan Chaosheng sneered, showing the arrogance of hundreds of years: “Him? I merely took a sword to the shoulder, but I crushed eight of his bones.”

“Is there a way to crush five of his bones without you getting injured?”

His eyebrows raised, and he smiled.

“Yes, I’ll go out and beat him until he cries.”

Liu Shuang rarely saw him like this, full of fighting spirit. Even the silver halberd in his hand shimmered with flowing light, emitting a humming sound. Where it touched his palm, dark flames swirled.

The ghost cultivators of the Ghost Realm all remained very calm, showing no trace of fear, as if with their lord present, anyone who came to challenge would meet a dead end.

Her husband was warlike at his core. The rumors were indeed true. But with his tall, jade-like stature and silver halberd in hand, he looked nothing like the venomous descendant of demon snakes from the rumors.

In her eyes, he was incredibly handsome. She smiled: “Husband, please be careful.”

Afraid of causing him trouble, she wobbled back toward her bedchamber under the Ghost Realm’s tremors. Suddenly, a hand appeared at her waist, and the next moment, she was hoisted up.

Liu Shuang was startled, looking at the ground in astonishment: “Husband?”

He said: “It won’t make much difference. Let me take you back first.”

Yan Chaosheng placed her on the swing in the courtyard, seeing her wide-eyed, both disbelieving and utterly obedient.

He laughed heartily: “Wait here. Your husband will peel a few of his scales and bring them back for you to play with.”

His figure transformed into a dark flow of light, disappearing in an instant.

Liu Shuang touched her heart, feeling as if it held a little deer, thumping rapidly. She recalled those biographical books that criticized Yan Chaosheng for his love of killing and excessive brutality.

But perhaps dizzied by the shaking earth, for the first time, she felt that loving to kill and being brutal… didn’t seem so bad.

It was quite… quite impressive.

After Yan Chaosheng left, the Ghost Realm returned to normal. Liu Shuang called for Chang Huan: “Do you know who is attacking the Ghost Realm?”

Chang Huan hesitated for a moment, then said: “In response to My Lady, it is the Heaven Lord Feng Fuming.”

“Feng Fuming…” This name wasn’t unfamiliar to Liu Shuang. The three grandfathers often mentioned this heavenly king. At that time, he wasn’t yet the Heaven Lord but the crown prince. The tree grandfather said he was accomplished and elegant. No wonder her husband said he would pluck his scales and bring them back to her. Feng Fuming had ancient dragon blood, and his true form was likely a dragon.

In recent decades, Yan Chaosheng had been at war with him most of the time.

This Heaven Lord was born noble with exceptional talent. It had taken Yan Chaosheng nearly a hundred years to establish peace treaties with him. But why had the Heaven Lord suddenly attacked the Ghost Realm?

“Don’t worry, My Lady. Feng Fuming is no match for the Demon Lord.”

Liu Shuang nodded, looking toward the Xiang Ze Palace. Was it because of this benefactor’s descendant that the Heaven Lord declared war on the Ghost Realm? Her husband was doing the right thing. They were not ungrateful people and must protect this guest well.

A battle between immortals and demons often lasted a long time. The sky would occasionally be marked by a heart-stopping lightning-like trace. For them, it was just a moment, but for Liu Shuang, who was accustomed to mortal time, five days had passed in the blink of an eye.

The Demon Lord’s birthday was tomorrow. Chang Huan lowered the curtain: “My Lady, would you like to get some good rest? You haven’t slept for five days since the Demon Lord went to battle.”

“It’s alright.” Staying in the Ghost Realm, even doing nothing, her spiritual energy would slowly drain away.

She wanted to wait for Yan Chaosheng. Her husband had said he would bring back scales for her. If she fell asleep, she wouldn’t know if he were injured.

Finally, Chang Huan happily said: “My Lady, I hear the Demon Lord has greatly repelled the Heavenly Army, and Chi Yuan is flying back to the Ghost Realm.”

Liu Shuang’s drowsiness vanished. The hairband in her hand was complete, and this time it was different from before. In the past, her husband was always campaigning outside, and in her previous gifts, worried for his safety, she had added layer upon layer of protective charms.

This time, it was about eternal love and companionship.

Golden enchantments, one after another, gently floated into the hairband. Her cultivation wasn’t high to begin with, and a binding band infused with blessings had almost depleted her excess spiritual power.

Liu Shuang raised her hand, feeling that her skin was no longer as lustrous and tender as before, like a small celestial grass that had lost moisture and withered. But Liu Shuang wasn’t sad; she only felt happy. When Yan Chaosheng received this gift, he would understand her feelings.

As Chang Huan said, they could now peacefully have a little heir. The Demon Lord’s offspring would surely be handsome and powerful.

She rubbed her cheeks, carefully placed the binding band in a brocade box, and carried it to Mount Qingcang to welcome Yan Chaosheng.

At Mount Qingcang, ghost crows shrieked, and instantly all bells rang. The Ghost Gate opened.

Liu Shuang looked up as countless envoys from the Demon Realm poured into the Ghost Gate.

At some point, the day had broken. Today was Yan Chaosheng’s birthday. Under the dark clouds, he sat on Chi Yuan in silver armor with his halberd, a lazy smile at the corner of his mouth, arrogantly looking down on all beings.

“Congratulations to the Demon Lord on his victorious return!”

Hundreds of ghosts and thousands of demons chanted in unison, kneeling together.

Liu Shuang’s hollyhock-purple gauze skirt billowed in the wind, its hem adorned with buds about to bloom, the purple gauze trailing to the ground.

She stood at the mountain gate, like a speck of dust merging into the surging flood. Demons and ghost cultivators both revered strength. Many of them, inheriting the bloodlines of ancient demons, possessed powerful cultivation and would rather bleed than bow their heads to others.

Yet before him, they all bowed and knelt, willingly serving as subjects.

He descended from Chi Yuan.

Liu Shuang, holding the brocade box, wondered if she could truly spend a lifetime with such an unparalleled, powerful man.

She looked down at her fingers, which had become pale to the point of transparency after using spiritual energy. Each day she spent with him in the Ghost Realm was silently consuming her lifespan. If one day she lost Yan Chaosheng’s care and protection, she would, as the tree grandfather said, be devoured in the Ghost Realm until not even her bone fragments remained.

Liu Shuang smiled softly, but she didn’t feel it was worth it, nor did she feel downhearted. She couldn’t take the lord of two realms back to live at Azure Lake, so she stayed by his side, year after year.